Canada/A 100% female municipal council on Anticosti Island

Hélène Boulanger is proud to head the municipality of L'Île-d'Anticosti. Her municipal council is unique in that it is made up entirely of women. On November 2, voters re-elected the mayor and all outgoing councillors.

It's still an exceptional event," she points out, pleased that citizens have renewed their confidence in the team.

According to the mayor, voters made their choice based on the skills of the elected women. When you're looking for a candidate, you look at their profile: their personality, knowledge and skills. It's not about gender, it's about personality as a whole," she says.

Often victims of prejudice, women starting out have to prove themselves, she admits. But the gaps narrow over time, she assures us. She also notes that sexism is much less prevalent than it was several years ago.

Even so, the elected women have to build a shell around themselves, as the island village is not immune to the tensions that sometimes reign in the municipal world. In this municipality of barely 200 souls, the detractors are very vocal.

There are some very angry people, and you see them every day at the grocery store. I'm going to keep saying "hello" to them. The best way to get respect is to give it. When things get heated, you stay respectful.

Hélène Boulanger puts overblown criticism into perspective by attributing it to a small group. Her optimism is fueled by the fact that the number of positive people is growing.

She compares going through a political storm to having a bad flu: once you're cured, you know how to avoid it.

Female representation on the Côte-Nord

Women are not as well represented elsewhere on the Côte-Nord as they are on Anticosti Island. According to data gathered by Radio-Canada, the proportion of women sitting on municipal councils has risen very slightly since the 2021 election.

Taking all municipalities together, just over four out of ten councillors are women. There are 81 women on 184 seats.

And female mayors are even rarer: just three women for every seven men. In the last election, Nord-Côtiers chose 10 women out of 31 mayors.

Elsewhere in Quebec, nearly half the administrative regions have seen an increase in female candidates. This is also the case on the Côte-Nord, but the increase is barely perceptible. Between 2021 and 2025, the region went from 43% to 44% female councillors, and from 31% to 32% female mayors, for a total variation of 1.9%. This is more than in Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Bas-Saint-Laurent, but less than in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

Hélène Boulanger encourages women to dare to enter politics, especially young women, who give her hope.

I think that, in the younger generation, female representation will become increasingly important.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/